Car top carrier for snowmobiles and the like

ABSTRACT

A carrier for transporting a snowmobile on top of an automobile includes a support deck which is mounted on a slant generally over the trunk of the automobile and is supported pivotally at its front end by a bracket attached to the rain gutters. The back end of the deck rests over the trunk and upon an upstanding support attached to the rear bumper. A loading boom is mounted on the support to pivot between pickup and load positions by means of an actuator and includes a sling for carrying the snowmobile up onto the deck as the boom is pivoted from the pickup position to the load position. A lifter also mounted pivotally on the support is positioned to engage the underside of the deck and is operable to raise the latter into a substantially level position in order to gain access to the trunk.

United States Patent 1191 Mclntire H lMarch 13, 1973 CAR TOP CARRIER FORSNOWMOBILES AND THE LIKE [76] Inventor: Owen F. Mclntire, P. O. Box 230,

Highway 51, Mercer, Wis. 54547 [22] Filed: April 23, 1971 [21] Appl.No.: 136,885

[52] U.S. Cl ..224/42.08, 214/77 R, 214/450, 224/421 H [51] Int. Cl..B60r 19/02 [58] Field of Search ..214/450, 451, 452, 453, 454, 214/77R; 224/421 R, 42.1 H, 29, 42.08,

[56] References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS 3,519,154 7/1970 Riley..2l4/450 3,612,366 10/1971 Schneider.... ..2l4/450 3,276,610 10/1966Thatcher ..214/77 R 3,139,203 6/1964 Burger ..214/450 1,288,567 12/1918l-lall ...214/16.1 DA 3,515,323 6/1970 Gilbert ..224/42.08

Primary ExaminerGerald M. Forlenza Assistant Examiner-John MannixAttorney-Wolfe, Hubbard, Leydig, Voit & Osann [57] ABSTRACT A carrierfor transporting a snowmobile on top of an automobile includes a supportdeck which is mounted on a slant generally over the trunk oftheautomobile and is supported pivotally at its front end by a bracketattached to the rain gutters. The back end of the deck rests over thetrunk and upon an upstanding support attached to the rear bumper. Aloading boom is 10 Claims, 6 Drawing Figures q PATE E 3.720.358

sum 10F 3 Z/ LL! 7 INVENTOR.

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%%%%%% 42, wah za CAR TOP CARRIER FOR SNOWMOBILES AND THE LIKEBACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION This invention relates generally to carriersfor transporting articles on top of automotive vehicles and, morespecifically, to carriers used to transport articles such as snowmobileson top of automobiles. Typical carriers of this SUMMARY OF THE INVENTIONdeck with front and back end supports for attaching the carrier acrossthe top of the automobile. In some instances, the front support isfastened to the rain gutters on each side of the automobile and the backsupport is fastened to the rear bumper. In this position, the deckslopes downwardly from the top of the automobile and over the trunk. Acarrier of this general type is shown in Townsend, U.S. Pat. No.3,527,371 and supports a snowmobile which is positioned on the supportdeck to face rearwardly of the automobile.

Summary of the invention The general object of the present invention isto provide a car top carrier of the above character which is simpler inconstruction and is especially adapted for much quicker and easierloading and unloading of an article than is possible with prior carriersof the same general type. More particularly, provision is made of aunique carrier with-a loading boom to which the article may beattachedquickly and easily so that the latter may be lifted bodily fromthe ground and onto the deck to greatly simplify the loading operation.

A further object is to facilitate the quick and simpl loading operationby adaptingthe carrier to load the article from substantially anyposition within a defined area behind the automobile rather thanrequiring the article be located in a specific position relative to thecarrier. This is a distinct advantage over previous carriers whichfuseloading ramps or other means that require the article to be oriented inone certain position relative to the loadingtmeans preparatorytoloading.

- An additional ob'ect is to adapt the carrier to hold the article beingloaded in a suspended position between the ground and the deck in orderto gain easy access to the underside ofthe article for servicing.

Another important object is to enable the carrier to be movedout-of-the-way for easy access to the trunk without need of taking thecarrier off the automobile.

The invention also resides in the novel and simplified construction andarrangement of the carrier for enabling the carrier to lift the articleonto the deck and to positively hold the article on the deck duringtransit.

These and other objects and advantages will become more apparent fromthe followingdetailed description when taken in conjunction with theaccompanying drawings.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS FIG. :1 is an elevational view of acarrier embodying the principles of the present invention with thecarrier shown mounted on an automobile.

FIG. 2 is, an enlarged fragmentary cross-sectional view takensubstantiallyalong line 2-2 of FIG. I with the roof of theautomobileshown in phantom.

- FIG- Sis a fragmentary end elevational view of the carrier takensubstantially along line 3-3 of FIG. 1

with the rear bumper of the automobile shown in phantom.

FIG. 4 is a perspective view of the carrier with the automobile andsnowmobile removed for clarity.

FIG. 5 is an elevational view similar to FIG. 1 but showing thesnowmobile as it is moved through successive loading steps.

FIG. 6 is an elevational view of the carrier but with parts removed, andshowing the support deck lifted into an out-of-the-way position so thataccess may be gained to the trunk.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT The present inventionis embodied in a carrier 10 for use in transporting an article on top ofan automotive vehicle. For purposes of illustration, the carrier isshown in the drawings mounted on an automobile 11 and carrying a singlesnowmobile 13. It will be appreciated, however, that other articles andeven two snowmobiles could be transported with the carrier and that thecarrier could be used equally well on a wide variety of automotivevehicles. Preferably, the snowmobile is supported on an incline over thetrunk of the automobile to maintain a low center of gravity and therebyobtain a stable carriage position. Herein, the snowmobile rests upon agenerally rectangular support deck 14 having its front end fastened tothe roof by a bracket 15 and its back end supported just above the trunkby an upstanding rear support 16. In order to keep the carrier aslightweight as possible, the deck is constructed as a'rectangular framewith two parallel side channels 17 spanned by crosspieces 19 at each endand covered by an expanded metal sheet 20 upon which the snowmobilerests.

The bracket 15 (FIG. 2) bridges the roof of the automobile and isfastened to the rain gutters 21. As shown, the bracket includes anelongated support rod 23 with a clamp 24 attached to each end thereoffor fastening to the rain gutters. A sleeve 25 on each of the clamps istelescoped over the rod end and is held thereon by a set screw. Anangled brace 26 welded to the bottom of each sleeve extends into thetrough of the rain gutter and is clamped against the bottom thereof by aJ-shaped catch 27. The latter fits around the'outer side of the gutterand is held thereagainst by a second set screw which acts to draw thebrace and catch together.

Supporting the back end of the deck 14 is the rear support 16 which isattached to therear bumper 29 of the automobile 11 and extends upwardlytherefrom past the top of the trunk thereby providing clearance betweenthe bottom side of the deck and the automo bile. As shown in FIG. 3, therear support comprises an elongated connector plate 30 bolted lengthwiseon the rear bumper preferably with the same bolts that are used to boltthe bumper to the automobile. Several bolt holes 33 are drilled intheplate to accommodate variations in automobile bumpers. Two legs 31integrally formed withthe connector plate andspaced from each other andequally from the ends of the plate extend upwardly from the plate andbumper and are connected at their upper ends by a pipe 34. The latter iswelded to the ends of the legs and is positioned to engage the undersideof the back end of the deck for support purposes. A

To provide added support for the rear springs of the automobile 11 asthe snowmobile 13 is loaded and unloaded on and off the support deck 14,an adjustable support standard 35 is mounted on each end portion of theconnector plate 30. Herein, each standard includes a verticallyadjustable post 36 with a pivoted foot 37 for engagement with the groundto provide a solid footing for the standard. The post is slidablethrough a U- shaped bracket 39 which is fastened to the connector plateand a winged set screw holds the post vertically in the bracket andprovides the means for vertical adjustment.

In accordance with the present invention, the carrier includes a loadingboom 40 which is used to easily and quickly load and unload thesnowmobile 13 on and off the deck 14 and to hold the loaded snowmobilesecurely on the deck during transit. For these purposes, a sling 41 isattached to the free end of the boom and is adapted to be connected withthe snowmobile to swing the latter onto the deck as the boom is pivotedbetween a pickup position 43 (FIG. 5) and a load position 44. Once thesnowmobile is loaded, the boom is pivoted further until the free endthereof is pressed against the snowmobile to hold it down on the deckand tension in the sling holds the snowmobile from sliding rearwardlyoff the deck.

In the present instance, the boom 40 is mounted pivotally on the rearsupport 16 for movement between the pickup and load positions 43 and 44and includes two parallel side members 45 which are spanned at theirfree ends by a crosspiece 46. As shown in FIGS. 3 and 4, the sidemembers are spaced from each other a distance greater than the width ofthe support deck 14 and are mounted on an elongated shaft 47 extendingthrough and journaled in the pipe 34. A collar 49 attached to themounted end of each side member is telescoped over the shaft, and setscrews extending through the collars hold the boom for movement with theshaft as the latter is turned within the pipe thereby to pivot the boombetween its pickup and load positions. Thus, the side members aremounted pivotally on the rear support with the end of each side memberadjacent one end of the pipe so that the end portions of the sidemembers are pivoted adjacent the sides of the support deck.

As shown in FIG. 4, the sling 41 is formed of four flexible straps 50which include looped end portions 51 that fit around the crosspiece 46.Snaps 53 fastened to the other end portions of the straps are adaptedfor detachable connection to the snowmobile. Two of the straps arefastened adjacent each end of the crosspiece and are held againstsliding along the crosspiece by collars 54. Two eye bolts 52 are locatedon each side of the snowmobile (FIG. 1), one toward the front of thesnowmobile and one toward the rear, with one of the straps to be clippedto each of the eye bolts by means of the snaps. Thus, the snowmobile iscarried by the four straps, two of which are fastened to opposite sidesof the snowmobile adjacent the rear of the snowmobile and the other twoof which are fastened to the opposite sides but adjacent the front ofthe snowmobile.

To complete the loading operation once the straps 50 have been fastenedto the snowmobile 13, the boom 40 is pivoted upwardly thereby to drawthe straps taut, as shown in FIG. 5, and continued pivoting of the boomcauses the snowmobile to be picked up from the ground, swung between theside members 45 and lowered onto the support deck 14. If before beingpicked up the snowmobile is not aligned lengthwise with the deck, theweight of the snowmobile acting through the straps as they are drawntaut will cause the snowmobile to be turned bodily lengthwise into analigned position. Then, when finally lowered onto the deck, thesnowmobile will not be in a skewed position relative to the deck. Thus,it is seen that the sling arrangement is of particular advantage becausethe snowmobile need not be positioned directly in line with the deckpreparatory to loading. All that need be done is to drive the snowmobileup behind the automobile 11 into any rearwardly facing position in whichthe straps can be clipped to their respective eye bolts 52. Then, as thesnowmobile is picked up, it is turned automatically to line up with thedeck.

As the boom 40 is moved during loading to lift the snowmobile 13, thelatter assumes a particular angular orientation at the end of the straps50 before being swung between the side members 45 and onto the deck 14.In this orientation, the front end of the snowmobile is lower than theback end so that the underside of the snowmobile substantially parallelsthe incline of the deck 14 as shown in dotted lines in FIG. 5. Thus, asthe boom approaches its load position, the snowmobile is lowered flatonto the deck. Since angular orientation of the snowmobile depends uponthe relative lengths of the straps 50, adjusters 55 (FIG. 4) areprovided at each snap end of the strap for shortening or lengthening thestraps individually as is found to be necessary in order to maintain thelifted snowmobile in the preferred angular orientation. The adjustersare of added benefit in that they allow the straps to be adjusted toaccommodate different sizes of snowmobiles and to compensate for stretchin the straps.

To move the boom 40 between its pickup and load positions 43 and 44, anactuator 56 (FIG. 3) is operably connected to one end of the shaft 47 toturn the latter and thereby pivot the boom. I-Ierein, the actuator iscarried on one of the legs 31 by means of an angle iron 57 and includesa gear box 59 which is mechanically connected to the end of the shaftand is driven by a crank handle 60. Thus, when the crank handle isturned, the shaft is also turned thereby to move the boom between itspickup and load positions.

Advantageously, the actuator 56 includes a worm wheel 58 (FIG. 3)connected to the shaft 47 and meshing with a worm 58a which is connectedto and rotated by the crank 60. Thus, when the crank is turned, the wormand the worm wheel rotate the shaft which, in turn, moves the boom 40between its pickup and load positions 43 and 44. Since the worm wheelwill not turn the worm if torque is applied to the shaft 47, the boomcan be stopped and held in any position between the pickup and loadpositions without need of a lock or other holding device. As a result,the boom can be used as a hoist to lift and suspend the snowmobile 13 inmidair thereby to enable the underside of the snowmobile to be easilyserviced. Furthermore, once the snowmobile is lifted onto the deck 14,the worm and worm wheel hold the boom stationary with the crosspiece 46pressed down against the snowmobile (see FIG. 1) to prevent the latterfrom bouncing around on the deck during transit. In this position, theforward straps 50 are stretched taut and thereby act to prevent thesnowmobile from sliding rearwardly off the deck.

To unload the snowmobile 13, the loading operation is simply reversedwith crank 60 being turned to pivot the boom 40 counterclockwise asviewed in FIG. 5. Because the snowmobile is carried in the angularorientation as it swings between the side members 45, the front skidsfirst engage the ground and then slide across the surface thereof untilthe back end of the snowmobile reaches the ground. Thereafter, continuedpivoting of the boom slackens the straps 50 so that they may beunclipped from the eye bolts 52 before the snowmobile is driven away.

Thus, it is seen that the present invention provides a new and novelcarrier which is particularly adapted for quick and easy loading andunloading of the snowmobile 13 whereby the snowmobile is flexiblysuspended from the end of the boom 40 and the latter is pivoted to swingthe snowmobile on or off the support deck 14 of the carrier as desired.Once the snowmobile is loaded, it is held on the deck by tension in theforward straps 50 which prevents the snowmobile from sliding off thedeck and by the clamping action of the crosspiece 46 against thesnowmobile whereby the latter is held normally against the deck.

As shown in FIG. 1, the preferred mounting position of the carrier 10locates the deck 14 just above the trunk of the automobile 11. Inaccordance with another aspect of the present invention, the carrier iseasily and quickly moved to an but-of-the-way position 61 (FIG. 6) inorderto enable the trunk of the automobile to be opened fully withoutremoving the carrier from the top of the automobile. For this purpose,the back end of the support deck simply rests on top of the rear support16 and the front end of the support deck is mounted pivotally on thebracket 15. This enables a lifter 63 to engage the deck and raise theback end thereof until the deck reaches and is held in a substantiallyhorizontal position so that the trunk lid can be opened.

In the present instance, the front end of the deck 14 is pivotallymounted on the support rod 23 as shown in FIG. 2 with the rod extendingthrough the side channels 17. Retainer rings 64 adjacent the outer sideof each channel are held on the rod by set screws to prevent the deckfrom sliding along the rod. At the back end of the deck, the rear endportions of the side channels rest on top of the cross pipe 34 of therear support 16 to support the deck in its normal or inclined position.A downward extension or lip formed on the lower edge of the rearcrosspiece 19 acts as a catch to engage the rear side of the pipe asshown in FIG. 4 and hold the back end of the deck from sliding forwardlyof the rear support in the event the automobile is required to stopsuddenly when carryingthe snowmobile. With this arrangement, the rearend portion of the deck may be lifted off the rear support with thefront end of the deck pivoting around the support rod 23 until the deckis raised into is substantially horizontal position so that the trunklid may be opened as shown in FIG. 6.

Herein, the lifter 63 is used to raise the deck 14 into itsout-of-the-way position and to hold the deck in that position. For thesepurposes, the lifter comprises a U- shaped member or bail 65 with legs62 pivotally mounted on the shaft 47 and a bridge 68 extending betweenthe legs to form the closed end of the bail.

More particularly, the bridge is disposed beneath the deck and rests ona keeper 66 (FIG. 1) which is mounted on the underside of one of thechannels 17.

Welded to the pivotal end of each leg is a sleeve 67 which is rotatablymounted on the shaft with the bail legs positioned on opposite sides ofthe deck so that the sleeves are located between the ends of the pipe 34and the collars 49 on each end ofthe side members 45 as shown in FIG. 3.

Fastened to one of the sleeves 67 in an elongated handle 69 (FIG. 5)which when turned counterclockwise acts to pivot the lifter 63 about theshaft 47 whereby the bridge 68 of the bail slides across the undersideof the channels 17 to lift the deck 14 off the pipe 34 and eventuallyinto the out-of-the-way position 61. In this position, the bridge restsagainst the downward extension of the rear crosspiece 19 in an angularposition rearwardly of a vertical plane through the shaft, as shown inFIG. 6, thereby to hold the deck in a substantially level position sothat the trunk lid can be opened and access gained to the trunk. Tolower the deck into its normal position, the handle is rotated in aclockwise direction until the closed end of the bail once again catchesin the keeper 66.

From the foregoing, it will be apparent that the present inventionprovides a new and improved car top carrier 10 which is particularlyadvantageous in that the snowmobile 13 can be loaded on the support deck14 much more quickly and easily than with previous arrangements. Thisadvantage is achieved through the novel use of a pivoted boom 40 and asling 41 whereby the snowmobile is bodily picked up and swung up ontothe support deck. Another unique feature of the present inventionresides in the lifter 63 which is used advantageously to lift the deckto an out-of-the-way position 61 without the need of taking the carrieroff the automobile thereby allowing the trunk lid to be opened to gainaccess to the trunk.

I claim as my invention:

1. A carrier for transporting an article on top of an automotivevehicle, said carrier including a support deck with front and back ends,a bracket for mounting the front end of said deck on top of saidvehicle, means adapted to be fastened on the rear of said vehicle forengagement with the back end of said deck to provide support therefor, avertically pivotable boom mounted on said vehicle and movable betweenpickup and load positions, an actuator connected to said boom andoperable to pivot said boom between said positions, means for fasteningthe article to the free end of said boom for movement therewith as theboom is moved between said positions to load and unload the article ontoand off of said deck, said means coacting with said boom and serving tohold said article on said deck once the article has been loaded.

2. A carrier as defined in claim 1 wherein said article fastening meansincludes a sling connected to the free end of the boom and suspendingthe article from the boom.

lift the back end of said deck into a raised position as the front endis pivoted on the bracket, said lifter being further adapted to supportsaid deck in said raised position in order to allow access to the trunkof the vehicle.

4. A carrier as defined in claim 3 including a catch for holding saiddeck in engagement with said support means to keep said deck fromsliding off the support means.

5. A carrier as defined in claim 4 in which said catch is a lip mountedon the underside of the deck to engage said support means when the deckis in its lowered position to prevent the deck from sliding forwardlyoff the support means, and said lifter including a U-shaped bail havinglegs pivotally mounted on said support means and having a bridgeengageable with the underside of the deck and engageable against saidlip to hold the deck in its raised position.

6. A carrier as defined in claim 2 in which said sling includes aplurality of flexible straps each with one end fastened pivotally to thefree end of the boom and with the other end adapted to be connected tothe article thereby to suspend said article from the free end of theboom.

7. A carrier as defined in claim 6 wherein said support means includes ashaft, said boom including two side members spanned at their free endsby a crosspiece, said side members being mounted on said shaft adjacentopposite sides of said deck, said straps being fastened to saidcrosspiece and said article to swing between said side members as saidboom is pivoted to load and unload the article.

8. A carrier as defined in claim 7 wherein four of said straps are usedwith two of the straps positioned adjacent each of said side members forfastening to opposite sides of said article at spaced positions alongsaid opposite sides so as to stabilize said article as the boom ispivoted between its pickup and load positions, said straps eachincluding an adjuster for varying the length thereof.

9. A carrier as defined in claim 8 wherein said actuator is a crankwhich is mechanically connected to said boom and includes means forstopping said boom between said pickup and load positions therebysuspending said article in mid-air for servicing the underside of thearticle.

10. A carrier for transporting an article on top of an automotivevehicle, said carrier including a support deck with front and back ends,a bracket connected to said deck and pivotally supporting the front endthereof on the top of said vehicle, means mountable on the rear of saidvehicle for engagement with the back end of said deck to provide supporttherefor, a boom having two side members and a crosspiece spanning saidside members, said side members being pivotally mounted on said supportmeans and extending along opposite sides of said deck, said boom beingpivotable between pickup and load positions, an actuator connected tosaid boom and operable to pivot the boom between said pickup and loadpositions, a sling including a plurality of straps each with one endfastened pivotally to said crosspiece and with the other end adapted tobe connected to the article thereby to suspend said article from thefree end of the boom as the boom is pivoted between its pickup and loadpositions to load and unload t he article onto and off of said deck,said boom coactmg with said sling and engaging sald article to hold thelatter on said deck once the article has been loaded, and a liftermounted on said means and engageable with the back end of said deck tolift the latter from a normally lowered position and into a raisedposition and to support said deck in the raised position to allow accessto the trunk of the vehicle.

1. A carrier for transporting an article on top of an automotivevehicle, said carrier including a support deck with front and back ends,a bracket for mounting the front end of said deck on top of saidvehicle, means adapted to be fastened on the rear of said vehicle forengagement with the back end of said deck to provide support therefor, avertically pivotable boom mounted on said vehicle and movable betweenpickup and load positions, an actuator connected to said boom andoperable to pivot said boom between said positions, means for fasteningthe article to the free end of said boom for movement therewith as theboom is moved between said positions to load and unload the article ontoand off of said deck, said means coacting with said boom and serving tohold said article on said deck once the article has been loaded.
 1. Acarrier for transporting an article on top of an automotive vehicle,said carrier including a support deck with front and back ends, abracket for mounting the front end of said deck on top of said vehicle,means adapted to be fastened on the rear of said vehicle for engagementwith the back end of said deck to provide support therefor, a verticallypivotable boom mounted on said vehicle and movable between pickup andload positions, an actuator connected to said boom and operable to pivotsaid boom between said positions, means for fastening the article to thefree end of said boom for movement therewith as the boom is movedbetween said positions to load and unload the article onto and off ofsaid deck, said means coacting with said boom and serving to hold saidarticle on said deck once the article has been loaded.
 2. A carrier asdefined in claim 1 wherein said article fastening means includes a slingconnected to the free end of the boom and suspending the article fromthe boom.
 3. A carrier as defined in claim 2 in which the front end ofthe support deck is pivotally attached to the bracket and the back endof the support deck rests on said support means whereby said deck issupported in a normally lowered position relative to the rear of thevehicle, said carrier further including a lifter adapted to lift theback end of said deck into a raised position as the front end is pivotedon the bracket, said lifter being further adapted to support said deckin said raised position in order to allow access to the trunk of thevehicle.
 4. A carrier as defined in claim 3 including a catch forholding said deck in engagement with said support means to keep saiddeck from sliding off the support means.
 5. A carrier as defined inclaim 4 in which said catch is a lip mounted on the underside of thedeck to engage said support means when the deck is in its loweredposition to prevent the deck from sliding forwardly off the supportmeans, and said lifter including a U-shaped bail having legs pivotallymounted on said support means and having a bridge engageable with theunderside of the deck and engageable against said lip to hold the deckin its raised position.
 6. A carrier as defined in claim 2 in which saidsling includes a plurality of flexible straps each with one end fastenedpivotally to the free end of the boom and with the other end adapted tobe connected to the article thereby to suspend said article from thefree end of the boom.
 7. A carrier as defined in claim 6 wherein saidsupport means includes a shaft, said boom including two side membersspanned at their free ends by a crosspiece, said side members beingmounted on said shaft adjacent opposite sides of said deck, said strapsbeing fastened to said crosspiece and said article to swing between saidside members as said boom is pivoted to load and unload the article. 8.A carrier as defined in claim 7 wherein four of said straps are usedwith two of the straps positioned adjacent each of said side members forfastening to opposite sides of said article at spaced positions alongsaid opposite sides so as to stabilize said article as the boom ispivoted between its pickup and load positions, said straps eachincluding an adjuster for varying the length thereof.
 9. A carrier asdefined in claim 8 wherein said actuator is a crank which ismechanically connected to said boom and includes means for stopping saidboom between said pickup and load positions thereby suspending saidarticle in mid-air for servicing the underside of the article.